Power Without
by Kyzer IX
Summary: Guardians bear heavy burdens. As a powerful yet conflicted Warlock, Nikolai is no exception. Questions of his existence and the power granted to him by the mysterious Traveler cast doubt in his mind. This is a story of the struggles of an Exo and the partners he makes along the way.
1. Lone Scholar

**I do not own Destiny.**

 **This is the second story that I've published. It takes a back-seat to my first story** _ **New Horizons**_ **(Naruto). So be aware that I plan publish quite slowly. However, I hope you are compelled to casually read along anyhow.**

 **Is Destiny just…Halo, but eons into the future?**

 **O_O**

* * *

 **Venus; Southern Forests **

'What am I?' a hidden silhouette thought to itself, sitting casually beneath lush trees and undergrowth. The smell of fire clung heavily to the figure.

'A _Guardian_? Huh.' the shadowed man speculated, gazing at a coin that vibrated gently in his grasp. 'But _why_?'

'Why do I have these- these memories? Dreams?' he questioned, pocketing the strange object as he stood. 'I remember… I used to love. Have whispers of living, and being more but… **Now**?'

Red beams of light shined around before focusing on the hidden soldier's location. The Vex had found him finally; simple enough for a group of tireless machines. He had not been hidden but for a few minutes. The discovery did not alarm him.

In a moment brief and swift, the cloaked man twirled a gaudy revolver that lent each Vex Goblin a single munition; painting their metal husks in their own florescent fluids as they crumbled into the grassy underbrush.

'All I do is kill.' the being of Light summarized, sinuously reloading the exotic weapon before holstering it on his lower back.

Pushing through the verdant bush, the Guardian sauntered indifferently out into the sunlight. The forests of Venus echoed sounds of hidden wildlife as the man strolled out from the groves and onto a lightly traveled path.

"Why do I have this power…" the man's smooth yet faintly mechanical voice questioned aloud, staring into his open palms. He could feel the potent energy rushing within him. "What did I do to earn my undeath?"

"Nikolai..." a woman's voice tested gently.

The man sighed deeply within his helmet before looking up to question the air, "How did you find me? And why?" he recognized that voice anywhere.

With a dimly electrical noise the hooded Guardian revealed herself atop a tree branch. Squatting lowly, the Huntress rested her chin in her palms.

"That's what I'm built for, love." the woman answered smoothly. "It's because I care."

"Now is not the time Selah." the Exo said indignantly. "I did not leave Town to be hunted. I left to think. To be alone."

"Nikolai…" the armored woman spoke softly, her body language wilting at the man's brashness. "You're doing it again…"

Pain tore through the Warlock's heart. Hunters are notorious for being outsiders, commonly bonding with only a few close acquaintances. But Selah was an extreme case.

She was not bothersome, or pushy even. They shared an experience together, when they slayed the Hive demon above Saturn. The siege was treacherous and they almost lost their Light. They would have been nothing but a story if Nikolai had not been there to bring her back. They counted on her; no one could run the way Selah did.

He saved her. Which, in turn, saved them all. From amidst the encounter they clicked and consequently remained together.

His over calculating mind recognized this. That only having one true friend is tough enough. Having that friend constantly push you away? He was lucky she didn't leave him. They both knew it.

That was their relationship, however. They knew one another, better than they knew themselves. There was understanding and forgiveness between them. They accepted this.

The man sighed quietly, gazing up at the Huntress. Slowly the Warlock stretched out a compassionate hand as the midday Venus sun gradually receded behind heavy clouds, casting more shade beneath the canopy.

In a flurry of lightning the woman teleported into his embrace, wrapping both of her arms beneath his. It had been too long of a separation for her. The same went for the thoughtful scholar, even if he didn't admit it.

"I am sorry." Nikolai apologized, hugging the sturdy woman in his stiff arms.

"I know." the Huntress affirmed, nuzzling his chest. Their armor felt like an extension of their bodies.

"It was really long this time, wasn't it…?" he questioned cautiously, torrents of malefic emotions whirling within him.

"Mhm." she nodded into his chest. "Five weeks."

'Five weeks?' the man shook his head in disappointment and regret as he mentally scolded himself. 'I cannot keep this up.'

"Hey," Selah said, lifting her head to gaze at him visor to visor. "Let's not sulk around, okay? I've got some stuff to show you back in Town anyways."

"Stuff?" Nikolai questioned, fully intrigued and thankful for the change of subject. She was like that. Ever-flowing, never-dwelling. "Like what?"

"Liiike, you've missed out on Saladin. _Plus_ the Disciple is back with his tournament." she said with a giggle, wholly knowing how to egg him on. Nikolai **reveled** in the Trials. "I won some cool stuff, found a couple powerful engrams that we can bring to your favorite blue bastard if you want? That's right, the purple ones hehe. Oh! And yeah, it's also the Festival."

"What!" he said excitedly, kicking himself for going on another hiatus of his and missing out on so much. "Well come on then, it has been too long. The Vex are closing in on us anyways. They seem to have brought Minotaurs with them."

"Yeah, because I'm worried about some Vex 'closing in on us'." Selah teased him, laughing while the two Guardians phased away as a jumpship seemingly comprised of flesh and bone swooped overhead.

 **Last City; Guardian Tower**

The Tower bustled emphatically with Guardians. There were Warlocks and Hunters blinking here and there, scaring their fireteam mates to death. Some Titans were engaged in private dance offs while other men and women had their hearts shattered by the unforgiving hammer of disappointment that the Cryptarch was known to wield.

Materializing out of thin air, two veteran Guardians joined the tower and the celebrations it had to offer.

Nikolai stood in awe next to his Huntress partner, eagerly removing his helmet to look upon the decorations with his own two ocular lenses (hidden behind a small blast plate between his black mouth and purple forehead horn; still able to see via the nervous network connecting eyes to blast plate that receives visual perception through hyper sensitive, microscopic light detecting panels).

"Ohhh man, it's even better than last year!" the black painted Exo exclaimed, his mouth lighting up in a bright cyan as he spoke. "I really enjoy the purple candles. The paper engrams are great too hahah."

"It gets better." Selah said with a smirk having removed her faceless black helmet, Void flames lapping out from it's maw before it dematerialized into her storage. "Eva is selling bags of goodies. There's paper heads of the slain Kells and Hive gods. They're my favorite." she summarized with a proud smile.

" **Is there candy?** " Nikolai asked briskly, quickly turning to the woman with concern written all over his mechanical visage.

"Hehe, yes." she giggled in amusement as they made their way to the Vanguard room. "Yes, there's candy."

" **Sweet!** " he exclaimed excitedly, drawing laughter from some guardians around them who overheard. "Wait, where are you leading us? Is the candy not that way?" he asked anxiously, motioning to the left with both of his thumbs.

"Yes, and we can get to that later." Selah reassured wryly, mischief lighting up her fair, human features. "But for now I want to have a different kind of fun…"

If Exo's could blush, Nikolai would have become a tomato. Luckily he had an expert poker face.

"Not that fun Nikolai!" she yelled as she could see his metaphorical gears turning, punching him in the shoulder with mock offence on her face. "Hmph. No silly, it's just that Shaxx has released Doubles Skirmish for one of the special events this week. I've really been wanting to bash some heads in, but…"

"I know." the Warlock confirmed, understanding her unwillingness to work that intimately with Guardians she isn't close with. Selah loves to win but hates when people she doesn't know or like hold her back from victory, so Nikolai understood her eagerness to get started now that she had him back. "Give me some time to gear up, I am definitely down. Oh, speaking of the Crucible- are Trials up? Shit, what day is it Selah…"

"Ugh, it's only Tuesday." she replied in equal disappointment. "Besides, we don't really have a third anymore…"

"Hey," Nikolai beckoned as he slowed to a stop on the stairs, putting his hand on her shoulder when she turned to him. "Don't think like that. Keir is out there Selah. I feel it, I just- I…"

"Shh, okay. I know, I'm sorry alright?" she whispered as she pulled him close, kicking herself for bringing up Nikolai's missing friend. "I believe you. He's fine- somewhere. I trust you, _and_ your witty Warlock intuition stuff."

"Alright." the Warlock nodded, choking back the self-doubt that lurks among the demons that haunt him. "Let us just get geared and out there. I have yet to test my thunder against a Guardian's resolve." Nikolai finished, looking down at hands that crackled with Arc energy for a brief moment.

"Please, allow me first shot this round. I've learned a thing or two about the Void out there." Selah disclosed, meeting her partner's smile with a grin of her own as they approached the large, horned Crucible handler. "Let's kick some ass."

 **End**

* * *

 **I love Destiny and its lore. I have been playing the game on Xbox One since the beta. I know the game has its faults, but I also know one should admit that it has a pretty fantastic 'expanded universe' story potential.**

 **Pronunciation: Nikolai (nik-oh-lie), Selah (say-lah)**

 **As always, I would love and appreciate all kinds of feedback and criticism.**

 **Good day, and thank you for reading.**

 **-Kyzer-**


	2. Unexpected Guest

**I do not own Destiny. Okay, well yes I do.  
Technically.  
I own the game if that counts?  
I love how the Warlocks have always had a white-ish/white-blue-ish swirling sphere (RASENGAN MOTHERFFFFFF) of energy in their palms but didn't 'discover' the use of Arc until TTK. Doofuses.**

 **sensei pls**

…

* * *

 **1:38PM SEhT*; Crucible Arena,** _ **Widow's Court**_

It was a pleasant day in the European Dead Zone. Cool and dry, the wind blew through the court calmly as the sun warmed the morning air. Hidden amongst the rubble of the lost city were four Guardians who materialized in pairs on opposing sides of the preset map boundaries moments ago.

A Warlock and a Hunter began their skirmish by the water, immediately moving left towards a large decrepit building as they kept a constant eye on their radar gauge.

"What's the plan Selah?" the Warlock asked his partner over their coms, running beside the Huntress. "It's been a while since I've fought against guardians."

"Well first off, let me know when you're all charged up. We should coordinate when we use that kind of power." the Huntress answered as the man nodded, taking a knee behind a wall next to a doorway that potentially faced the enemy. "For now I want to snipe some heads."

An aggressive Selah was currently brandished in her black, open-faced helmet that emitted flaming Void energy. She boasted a hood reminiscent of a ghillie suit, with arm pieces that reflected her victory over the Taken King; matching her greaves and chest plate. Her armor color was of an ominous black and red scheme.

She hefted a long, bolt-action sniper rifle. An Old Age weapon by design, it is commonly interpreted as an embarrassment to be downed with this particular rifle due to its ancient build and excessive reload time. She loved it.

"Do you want me to counter-snipe in case they catch a glimpse of you?" Nikolai asked, sifting through his inventory thoughtfully. "That or I could flank them. Either way I'd like to get things rolling."

"Agreed. Let me take a look before we decide." she suggested calmly. Turning through the doorway in a crouch, the Huntress surveyed the visible area for a few moments as she scanned back and forth. "I think they're moving behind the largest central building towards our right. We should hold our post and wait for them to come peak around those corners."

"I'll jump down behind the middle building. Watch my back?" the Exo asked in amusement, leaping over the wall to sprint and slide to the corner of the building. "Remember, they may decide to go back around."

Nikolai currently brandished a smooth, rounded helmet with vertical, mandible-like appendages on the face; a clear indication of his success over the Hive demon Oryx. Zapping softly around his wrists and hands were copper coiled gauntlets bursting with electricity. The cloak he wore reflected his allegiance to the group known as Dead Orbit, with his boots matching in kind. The Warlock's armor appearing a stark white with hot red accents; the mysterious looking domed helmet seeming to glow scarlet from within.

Held in his grasp was a weapon hated by the Vanguard; a steel colored rifle caked in dried blood around the spiked barrel and bayonet. On Nikolai's back was an orange and black sniper rifle; a hard hitting weapon of Vanguard designation.

"Got a ping." Nikolai informed as his tracker blipped red towards his left. "Keep your eyes open."

"I got your six." Selah reassured, carefully keeping watch over all visible spaces.

A faint winding sound flew through the air before a lightning grenade stuck itself directly facing the Exo soldier. Connecting solidly with the concrete roadblock in front of him, Nikolai couldn't move fast enough to avoid being struck hard with the Arc energy it emitted.

"Ah, shit!" he cursed, jumping back with depleted shields. "Selah!"

Not a moment passed before a lone shot rang out. The high caliber round's din reverberating sharply against the decaying buildings as the bullet found its way through an opposing Warlock's skull behind the overgrown stone fountain.

"Got 'em." Selah announced proudly, restocking a round into the barrel before switching to her sleek, black Omolon fusion rifle of choice. "That Titan should be near, let's go!"

"Hell yeah, nice shot!" he called out, sprinting forward around the corner to engage the solo target. "Cover me!"

Entering the sunny church court, Nikolai saw their last opponent sprinting behind the stone fountain to use as cover. The Titan was attempting to revive his dead team mate before he erupted in purple Void flames from a well-aimed toss by Selah.

Dodging away, the Titan was in a poor position; quickly getting gained on with only open spaces to run out into. Taking a gamble, the white armored Titan used his boosters to swiftly escape back towards the crumbled stories of the north-eastern building.

Nikolai saw his prey's retreat and shot two hungry bursts that ate at the enemies' shields before he disappeared behind decaying walls.

"Damn, almost had him." The Warlock muttered angrily. "Look, the ghost is gone."

"He's been transported, let's wipe them out this time." Selah declared, jumping over the wall to join her comrade by the overgrown stone fountain.

Nikolai sprinted to the leftward stairs leading up to the higher courtyard, launching a storm grenade that landed behind a small structure to the northwest.

The grenade burst and sudden bolts of lightning struck down upon the enemy behind cover, who let out a gasp of pain.

"I heard him too," Selah acknowledged as Nikolai glanced back at her. "Push!"

The duo rushed forward until a clang reminiscent of a hammer pounding an anvil reverberated throughout the buildings. " **Pull back**!" Selah yelled, Nikolai already on the retreat.

'Nah, fuck that.' Nikolai thought coolly, swelling with powerful Arc energy. Laughing challengingly as lightning exploded from his body, his electrical powers surging menacingly.

A sprinting Titan adorned in flames rounded the wall at the top of the stairs and launched a Solar hammer at Nikolai, exploding in a fiery burst where the Warlock was just located as he teleported backwards.

Selah found herself beside her electrical companion, facing death as the infernal Titan prepared another Hammer of Sol. The enemy Warlock that was recently downed suddenly rounded the corner in a sprint.

'Shit, we're gonna die.' The woman thought to herself, leaping into the air as a rush of violet energy enveloped her fists before she pulled the drawstring back on the Void Bow that materialized in her grasp. 'Please make it in time.'

The opposing Warlock rushed past his scorching comrade, leaping into the air just after Selah. Blinking towards their enemies, Nikolai barely dodged a second Solar hammer that nearly hit the powerful Huntress midair as she released the tension on her Shadowshot.

The Void arrow twirled in purple fire as it propelled towards the Warlock; Void energy of his own emerging in his reeled back palm.

Just before he could unleash a devastating Nova Bomb, the projectile impaled, killed and engulfed the enemy Warlock in its Void energy. In its wake developed a ravenously powerful vortex. The drifting phantom orb latched onto the Titan who pulled back an arm to launch his hammer once more, only at the brink of his fiery assault. Suddenly the Titan's power withered and drained; tethered by the suppressing energies of Selah's Void anchor.

"Hah!" Nikolai shouted victoriously as he unleashed devastating Arc lightning upon the defenseless opponent, quickly ending his life. "Wooh!"

"Oh sweet lord," the woman sighed in relief, "awesome."

"Great work there, little lady." Nikolai praised, walking up to her as the duo exchanged a liquid smooth high five. "That was all you."

"Nah, you could have had them with your lightning." She reassured, glancing around before noticing something. "Alright, we still have seven minutes left of this match. Let's get to work."

"I'm ready." Nikolai confirmed, switching his exotic pulse rifle for a familiar flashy hand cannon. "We got this."

"Follow me, we might be able to get them again." Selah directed as Nikolai's floating, electrical form followed her to the northeastern building the Titan fled to moments before. Climbing up the stairs within the building, the two Guardians took a knee by the wall's cover as the Warlock's Arc power faded. "You wanna have a go?"

"Oh yeah." He replied boisterously, moving into position behind the corner ahead of his team mate.

Holstering the gold and silver firearm, Nikolai hefted his black and orange sniper rifle. A brief glance from cover revealed their two opponents, quickly approaching in search for their redemption fight.

Nikolai took a steady breath, relaxing his body and focusing his mind. A Warlock habit ironed into him from ancient practices taught by elite members of his class. Aiming down his Ambush SLH25 scope, his finger gently embraced the trigger as his crosshairs swooped past the flying Titan. His rifle erupted as a Solar round rocketed from the lengthy barrel.

The rushing enemy Titan, still agitated from being thwarted out of a Super, was struck hard by the high caliber round. Groaning aloud as his shields were eradicated, he clutched his right shoulder before firing two staccato shots at his aggressor.

"Agh-" Nikolai grunted, as both rounds collided hard with his head. Entirely depleting his shields before he returned to cover. "I suck, but I tagged him hard."

Leaping out from behind their cover to another half-broken wall, Selah slammed down a vanish smoke bomb. Disappearing from her enemy's sight and radar, the Huntress sprinted across the roofless room before jumping over the west wall.

The keen woman spotted the regrouping enemies below her, behind cover at the bottom of another set of stairs. Before they could escape farther into the northwestern courtyard, Selah hurled a vortex grenade that landed between her enemies.

Quickly taking a freight of damage, the opposing Warlock blinked to safety as the Titan ran north out of the Hunter's rightward view.

Rounding his cover, Nikolai caught the retreating Warlock down-the-way in his field of vision. Immediately hefting the rifle to his shoulder the focused soldier ended the scholar's retreat with a satisfying round to the head.

"I chase; you cover your kill?" the human asked lightly, her tone acknowledging her comrades' impressive shot.

"Go get 'em." He affirmed in amusement, pushing into a sprint to go secure the enemy's defeat.

'Oh, how I've missed this.' The Warlock thought warmly.

 **Three Days Later; Mars - Deimos; SR-13**

Tucked away three kilometers northeast of the crater Voltaire was an insignificant slit in the regolith of Mars' furthest moon. SR-13( _MsDs_ ), currently shaded by the lazy satellite's night cycle, was one of many safe houses Nikolai had constructed over the years. Working diligently on the programming of his very own frame, the Exo typed in quiet solitude.

"Errgh, damn it." the mechanical man grunted, stumped as he ran a trouble shoot on his take of a flawless override protocol that wouldn't come back to bite him in the rear. "What's the best way to do this…"

Relaxing in a big, old, worn leather chair at his desk, Nikolai sat up lazily as his defensive equipment blipped to inform him of a friendly visitor requesting to land.

"Nikolai, sir." the smooth voice of a custom female AI inquired almost melodically.

"Yeah, let me guess Aesa…" the programmer mused, rising from his comfort to welcome the visitor.

"It's Selah, sir. She would like permission to land." the AI informed happily. "As if she doesn't already know…"

"Yeah, I don't know why she even bothers." Nikolai chuckled, typing a series of numbers into the keypad of his defense panel; granting his guest access within the Warlock's series of SAM (Surface to Air Missile) site zones. Brought to fruition with the insights gathered while dismantling technologies found within Earth's Warmind, Rasputin, these powerful fusion cannons are capable of melting a Tombship or slicing clean through the hull of a Ketch when primed.

"Enjoy yourself, sir." the artificial woman insisted in amusement, brightening the lights within the dull compound.

"Always do, Aesa." he commented, making his way out of the six by seven meter study and into the hallway. Entering the largest walkway, the 'spine' of this hideout, Nikolai came up on two heavy metal doors as he jogged.

Clanking hard as heavy gears unlocked, the vault-like door swung inward, revealing a backdrop of SR-13( _MsDs_ )'s small hangar. Standing in the doorway was a lithe, fit woman with dark brown hair and keen blue eyes smiling brightly at the sight of her host.

"There you are!" the woman's warm voice called as she rushed into the Exo's embrace. "I was wondering where you wandered to yesterday when you left the tower with that look on your face."

"Hey lady!" the man greeted excitedly, arms opened wide as he welcomed his favorite human. "Yeah, I had inspiration and got tunnel-vision and needed to get it out so I came to Thirteen to update Draivon then I got distracted cause I couldn't figure out how to make him speak with one of those old accents, then I found myself trying to make a perfect override and that got frustrating for a while before I fell asleep and had a dream about a solution that woke me up so I got right back to programming then got stumped again so yeah…" he explained quickly, rubbing his neck sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

"Hehe, that's okay." the brunette giggled, walking with the taller Exo as they sought out the Warlock's lounge room. "It's good to have a hobby."

"Yeah, hah." Nikolai breathed, thoughts of his bleak outlook interring on his mind. "Killing gets old."

'Not this again…' Selah thought to herself in concern, worry on her face as she cast her gaze toward her only companion; pocketing her hands in her favorite red jacket as they walked.

"We have a greater purpose." the woman reasoned, her curious eyes studying her metallic companion. "Yes, we kill. But that can't be all you focus on. It's not the only thing we do."

"It feels like it sometimes." Nikolai sighed quickly, reaching the desired room before taking a seat on the large central 'C'-shaped couch. "I didn't ask for this, ya know?"

Selah, although a brilliant woman, still didn't quite know how to handle this side of her partner. It's not that Nikolai brought up the subject often, or ever impeded it upon her. No, it was merely something that occupied much of his thought, therefore she picked up on it from time to time.

In this particular scenario, Selah knew what Nikolai meant. He was delving into the subject not of his reanimation, but rather his existence extending further than that. Nikolai was caught in the diseased thought of an Exo. She understood the difference between their plight and the humans. They're the most understood of the three species wreathed in Light, and yet they seem to be the loneliest; despite having been explicitly created by humans.

"You dwell on stuff too much." Selah insisted, taking her place beside him. Laying against him casually, she looked over the grand painting of a nebula-lit sky facing them. "We'll get our answers. But might as well have a nice time while we look for them, right?"

Sudden vibrations in the walls led to a heavy shudder of the entire complex before a massive impact shook the very seats beneath them.

The couple looked toward each other with wide eyes, their demeanor shifting considerably as they prepared themselves for combat.

Teleporting down the hallway simultaneously, the odd pair rushed for the hangar bay and only exit of the underground base. Shimmering as they ran, Syx and Zaid (the ghost companions of Nikolai and Selah respectively) tapped into their vaults; equipping them with their desired gear.

Sprinting headstrong out of the first pair of metal ingresses the Huntress and Warlock observed as the behemoth blast doors opened slowly; allowing a horizontal ray of light to leak in.

Mounting sparrows as the machines materialized from under them, the Guardian duo used these nimble vehicles to race out of the hangar and onto the grey landscape towards the source of impact.

Kicking up dust as they sped across the smaller moon of Mars, the two heroes inspected the cause of disruption in the distance while they closed in. Studying the crater intently, Nikolai recognized that they advanced on a wreckage.

"Be ready for anything." he cautioned as they approached the scene, fully enveloped in roaring flames despite the miniscule, artificially developed atmosphere.

"That's a guardian's ship!" Selah shouted as they hopped off of their sparrows, glancing anxiously at her companion before thoughtlessly rushing into the inferno after the pilot within.

"Selah wait!" Nikolai yelled, reaching for the quick Huntress. "Damn it…!"

Sprinting in after her, the Warlock was forced to use his arcane abilities to push the fires away as he burned following Selah into the sweltering debris.

Frantically working his way around the shredded steel, Nikolai abruptly found himself revitalized as he brought to a stop; standing before Selah as she knelt above a large figure spread across the dirt under the dilapidated hull of its ship.

"Zaid…" Selah's soft voice inquired shakily after she turned the heavily armored Guardian over on his back. "Please…"

'His Light, it's… so dim.' Nikolai thought grimly as Selah's stark black and white ghost materialized in front of them over the downed soldier.

"He's fading." Zaid informed worriedly, his rear shell spinning as he hovered over the Guardian, scanning its broken body with his blue light. "We're gonna lose him…"

Appearing beside the small being in a sparse glint of light came Syx as he noticed something big Zaid overlooked in his frantic attempt to stabilize the injured man.

"Where's his ghost…?" Syx tested in a low tone, desperately searching the surrounding area before noticing what kept them from being scorched alive as they inspected the Titan before them.

Finally seeing passed the immediate issue, Nikolai and Selah looked up in astonishment as they noticed the deep purple glow of the warrior's Ward of Dawn that encompassed the inside hull of the wrecked ship.

Completely awestruck, Nikolai stepped to the man and began to remove his brutally warped helmet.

"Impossible…" he whispered in shock.

"What are you doing- you'll kill him!" Selah warned, grabbing the Warlock's arm before he turned to face her masked visage, Syx floating nearby with a calm complexion cast upon his polygonal face.

Letting go, Selah observed quietly with the two ghosts as Nikolai removed the Titan's impaired helmet to see the smooth, stately face of an Awoken.

Watching as the faintly glowing man sucked in a hard breath, it appeared that the crash damaged his helmet, making it impossible to provide life support; suffocating the Awoken man to near-death in his already wounded state.

Breathing unconscious breaths of the stabilized air within the protective shield of Light, the Titan defied probability as his body healed slowly with the combined efforts of the ghosts and his own Void ability.

 **End**

* * *

 *** SEhT = Standard Earth Time**

 **And for future reference, there's also SVsT (Standard Venus Time), SMsT (Standard Mars Time), SJrT (Standard Jupiter Time) etcetera.**

 **SR-13(** _ **MsDs**_ **) is a designation for "Secret Retreat - #13; Planet: (Mars) Satellite: (Deimos)"**

 **This format will continue to be used in the future.**

 **Be sure to refer Power Without to a friend if you enjoy it because they might too!**

 **Happy Holidays everyone! Please have a happy and safe December (:**

 **Good day, and thank you for reading.**

 **-Kyzer-**


	3. Settled Down

**I do not own Destiny.**

 **I OWN MY OWN DESTINY.**

* * *

 **Mars - Deimos; SR-13**

Selah and Nikolai were bewildered. Utterly baffled as they dragged the unconscious Awoken from the smoldering wreckage once the Warlock blasted a path with an impressive display of Void energy manipulation.

It was only happenstance that they were able to produce a helmet from Nikolai's library that fit the Titan; he liked to collect fancy, exotic things. Otherwise they would have had a harder time keeping him alive as, just like they thought, the Void bubble that was providing him safe haven eventually dissipated.

That was a miracle on its own. A fallen Guardian produced a Ward of Dawn and maintained it in an unconscious state _without_ his Ghost. It was truly an astonishment that thoroughly perplexed Nikolai while Selah blithely accepted it as good fortune.

Loading the man's heavy body onto a sparrow, the two saviors escorted the warrior whence they came.

"Not to piss off the _luck gods_ , but how did his ship even crash-land here?" Selah inquired, holding onto the Awoken on the opposite side of her companion as they guided the vehicle back to SR-13( _MsDs_ ). "Wouldn't your fusion cannons have- you know?"

"The systems must have recognized it as debris. It doesn't appear to have been a functioning ship when it entered range." Nikolai informed with a glance, mentally calculating the cause of the ships demise. "What I want to know, besides the Ward obviously, is who or what attacked him."

"And didn't chase." Selah mumbled, continuing his thought. "Maybe they thought they finished him?"

"They wouldn't think that though." the Exo replied, shaking his head in disagreement. "We're known for not ever truly dying and…Unless they knew he didn't have a Ghost."

The woman's eyes widened as she looked over at an equally worried Nikolai.

"But- what? I don't understand…" she stammered as she thought horrible thoughts. The Darkness isn't the only enemy among the stars. Guardians have been known to go rogue, albeit the cases are rare. The fact that it's already happened before made Selah's mind run wild. Her friend picked up on her anxiety.

"No need to stress yourself now, little lady." the metal man lulled, looking over at her with a gentle gaze. His softly glowing blue eyes put her at ease, "we can ask him all the questions we need to when he awakens."

It was just too easy for her.

"But he's already- " Selah started, her voice thickening while she tried not to laugh. " _Awoken…!_ "

" _Shutup._ " Nikolai scowled, helpless against the smile that pulled at his features while the human attempted to keep her muffled giggles quiet. "You're the worst."

" **It was pretty funny.** " Syx commented aloud from within Nikolai's storage matrix.

"Hey- no!" the Exo exclaimed at his Ghost as Selah giggled into a fit of laughter, finally reaching the main blast doors which shut automatically behind them. "You be quiet in there!"

Before he knew it, two Ghosts and his closest friend were all laughing together at his expense.

Sulking shallowly, his comrade's laughter finally settled when the base's large door swung shut behind them.

"Have you had enough?" Nikolai mused, grinning as his pretty companion calmed down. "Because that was ridiculous."

"Ridiculously funny." she remarked, turning left into a large, dark room that buzzed to life once Nikolai walked through the doorframe. "Ooo, fancy."

"What's fancy is the helmet on this stranger's face." the Exo grunted as they hefted their patient's body onto a central medical table. "Which I will now be taking back." he finished as Syx dematerialized the golden helm and returned the ancient, birdlike armor piece to Nikolai's wide storage array.

"Aesa." the Warlock called as his armor also dematerialized before he was fitted in denim jeans and a black shirt that had a yellow, horizontal oval with a strange shape centered in it. "Scan and transmat this Guardian's armor into storage. Keep a live feed up on screen two."

"Yes sir." the AI's smooth voice responded pleasantly, screens lighting up as a mechanical limb extended toward the Awoken, scanning him repeatedly. "Would you like any refreshments? That was a hell of a show out there."

Selah gave the man an impressed look before he shrugged and examined the readings on the screen with a small grin.

"I'll take some tea, Aesa." the woman asked politely, amusement on her tone as she looked over the large, luminescent man before them. "Ginger with sugar please."

"I'm fine for now, thanks Aesa." Nikolai responded, thoroughly intrigued by the life support readings.

"As you wish, Lady Selah." the AI responded before a humorous edge reached her smooth tone. "I'll have Draivon bring you that immediately."

"Aesa…" the Exo warned, getting no response. "Aesa, he's not…you suck." he finished with a shake of his head as he pointed to screen two. "You see this?"

"See what?" the human asked curiously, walking around the table to stand behind the mechanical man. "Which blips am I looking for?"

"The squiggly one below the zig-zaggy ones." he answered with a gesture as she nodded in acknowledgement, her chin placed on his right shoulder. "That's his pulse. Awoken have a slightly different anatomy compared to humans, but that's still extremely fast for his kind. And look!" he pointed again, higher this time. "The zig-zaggies, that's his neural feed. He's thinking. He's thinking a lot, and I'm wondering if it's because he's dreaming."

"Oh! It got faster." Selah commented as they stared at the display. "What if he's in a coma, but is fully conscious of our conversation?"

"Then I guess he was probably laughing his ass of earlier along with you freaks then, huh?" Nikolai responded with a metal grin as he turned toward her, though Selah didn't seem to notice as her brow furrowed. Looking back, he quickly realized why. "What in the… "

Reaching the control panel, Nikolai clicked on the neural feed; bringing it to fill screen three as he looked on, awestruck.

"His mind is so- so energetic." Selah commented quietly, letting a small gasp between her fingers as they watched the already excited display ignite into increased activity. "It's beautiful."

"Noo…" Nikolai mumbled, hands on his head as he tried to comprehend this enigma. "How are both his sub and high level consciousness so active?"

"Is that normal, since he's a blue?" the woman asked, approaching the Awoken. "What would happen if I held his hand?"

"I don't know. Go ahead." Nikolai allowed, watching as she slid her soft palm under the Titan's. To their humble surprise, the display flurried and the tone of the many tracing lines seemed to shift. "Oh my lord, this is unbelievable."

"Wow…" Selah venerated, looking over the man's strong visage. "What should we do?"

"I don't want to harm his mind in any way." the Exo said calmly, holding the Titan's left hand. "I don't even want to risk it. I advise us to give him an IV with this elixir my friend invented. It'll keep him sedated but supremely assist in his recovery. His brain has to reorganize and heal, which it hasn't done much of since he's lost his Ghost. He might have been through trauma, so it may take time."

"You're the boss. Sounds like a good idea to me." Selah nodded wholeheartedly, retrieving and applying an IV as Nikolai organized the correct chemicals to induce peaceful rest and recovery for the Awoken's physical makeup.

After successfully administering the proper dosage, the Guardian couple observed his neural gauge as its many racing lines and numbers relaxed to indicate a state of mental rest as the minutes passed.

"Let's go." Selah whispered as she took her Exo's arm, removing the entranced man from the medical bay of SR-13( _MsDs_ ). "You need to relax."

"I am relaxed." Nikolai started, looking down into her big blue eyes. "Okay fine, I could stand relax a little more."

"Let's go watch one of those videos you have from the Old Age." she suggested sweetly as they entered the lounge wing. "You've got millions, so there's definitely a nice selection to choose from."

"One point six trillion." Nikolai countered wryly, causing her to nudge him playfully. Laughing together, the duo sat down again before the grand painting that ornamented the long wall. "Aesa."

"You got it." the womanly AI acknowledged, following his subtle request. Just as they sat, a small drone flew in and placed a plate with a pot of hot water, two cups and an assortment of teas. One of the cups was already filled to the Huntress's specifications. "There you are, Lady Selah…Luckily for you, sir, Draivon wasn't able to comply."

Rolling his eyes, the Guardians watched as the large frame in front of them began sinking into the floor to reveal a screen of equal size that pushed outward several inches after a moment.

"Okay, it's your pick." he offered, gesturing casually toward the massive screen. "What would you like?"

"Hm. 'S' for Selah!" she commanded as the listings flowed into view to narrow down her search. "Keep scrolling. Keep scrolling- Ooo! What's that at the bottom? It had 'stars' in the title."

"That might have been one of these." Aesa suggested, assisting as she brought up relevant titles.

"No way! That's our life dude." Selah exclaimed excitedly as she pointed. "Nikolai, oh my gosh- our ancestors were psychic…" she finished playfully.

"Heheh you're right, that's spot on." the mechanical man chuckled as she selected the file that opened into a list of several more videos. "Your ancestors made movies about wars in the stars… Huh."

 **Two Movies Later; Medical Bay**

The immaculate medical room was weakly vivified by the soft light of numerous data screens presenting an Awoken male's life-support readings. Fluttering, incoherent dreams of innumerous, terrible beings wrought damp horror in the Titan's deep consciousness.

Finally, much to his unknown relief, the blue skinned being perceived a drench of Light and returned from a comatose slumber.

"Kheehhyah!" the patient inhaled suddenly; lightning igniting his reanimated mind as he coughed, "ough, errhuh, hhuh, ah- ohf…"

The undressed Guardian sat up in a frenzy, gasping and heaving in fright of an abnormal pseudo-memory of some unfastened evil lurking among his deepest worries.

 **End**

* * *

 **I know it's been eight months since my last input and this one is short, but don't be upset. It will be greatly made up for in Chapter 4.  
Who's ready for Rise of Iron?**

 **Good day, and thank you for reading.**

 **-Kyzer-**


End file.
